Cash Waqfs of Bursa, 1555-1823 Author(s) : Murat Çizakça Source: Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient, 1995, Vol. 38, No. 3, The Waqf (1995), Pp. 313-354 Published By: Brill

Cash Waqfs of Bursa, 1555-1823
Author(s): Murat Çizakça

Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient , 1995, Vol. 38, No. 3,
The Waqf (1995), pp. 313-354
Published by: Brill
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CASH WAQFS OF BURSA, 1555-1823
BY
MURAT QIZAKQA*)
Bogazigi University, Istanbul
Abstract
By organizing as well as financing expenditures on education, health, welfare and a host

of other activities, cash endowments played a vitally important role in the Ottoman social
fabric and did so without any cost to the state. This article aims at analyzing the way these
endowments functioned and contributed to the society over the long term, covering almost
three hundred years.
1 Introduction
The cash waqf (plural: awqaf) was a trust fund established with money to
promote services to mankind in the name of God. These endowments were
approved by the Ottoman courts as early as the beginning of the fifteenth
century and by the end of the sixteenth, they had reportedly become
extremely popular all over Anatolia and the European provinces of the
empire.
The extent of the geographical diffusion and, specifically, the creation of
waqfs in the Arab provinces, is subject to debate. Originally, it was argued
that the more pious Arab regions refused to have anything to do with this
institution'). This view has been challenged. The widespread establishment
of these waqfs in Aleppo has been documented2) and it is possible that new
research may reveal further examples in other Arab cities.
The endowed capital of the waqf was "transferred" to borrowers who
after a certain period, usually a year, returned to the waqf the principal plus
a certain "extra" amount, which was then spent for all sorts of pious or
social purposes. These vague terms "transferred" and "extra" have been
used deliberately here. For, whether the capital of the endowment was lent
as credit to the borrowers and the return was in fact nothing but the
ordinary interest constitutes another debate.
*) The author is grateful to professors Ahmet Davutoglu. Ethem Eldem, Suraiya Faroqhl,
Mehmet Geng, and Harriet Zurndorfer for their comments, as well as to his assistants Mefail
Hlzhli, Ahmet $eyhun, Asim Yediylldiz and particularly to Fehmi Yilmaz for their valuable
assistance and to Kubilay Dolgun for the computer work. While he is grateful to all of them,
he, alone, is responsible for any mistakes.
1) Mandaville, 1979, p. 308
2) Masters, 1988, p. 162.
? E. J Brill, Leiden, 1995 JESHO 38,3

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314 MURAT CIZAKCA
In a society where health, educat

by gifts and endowments, the cash
very survival of the Ottoman so
major Injections of capital to th
tioned.
2. The Legal Background
A. Position of the Classical Jurists
The Ottomans, being devoted Hanefis, conducted their business and

social affairs within the general guide lines established by this school of
thought. It is, therefore, imperative that this analysis should start with a
summary of the classical Hanefi position pertaining to cash waqfs. Let us first
consider the thorny issue of the endowment of moveable assets. The essence
of this problem pertains to the perpetuity of the endowment, the sine qua non
condition for any waqf. Real estate, was thought to be the best asset to
ensure the perpetuity of an endowment. There were, however, three recog-
nized exceptions to this general principle among the Hanefi scholars: first,
the endowment of moveable assets belonging to an endowed real estate,
such as, oxen or sheep of a farm, was permitted; second, if there was a per-
tinent hadis, and third, if the endowment of moveables was the customary
practice, ta'amul, in a particular region. Indeed, exercising judicial
preference, estihsan, Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani had ruled that even in
the absence of a pertinent hadis the endowment of a moveable asset was per-
missible if this was customary practice in a particular location').
Apparently, even custom was not always a required condition, for accord-
ing to al-Sarahsi, Imam Muhammed had, in practice, approved the endow-
ment of moveables even in the absence of custom4). Furthermore, both
Imams Muhammed al-Shaybanl and Abu Yusuf had confirmed, absolutely,
the endowment of moveables attached to a piece of real estate. In view of
this, it is not surprising that we often see such combined cash/real estate
waqfs in the Ottoman records.
Given the acceptability of moveable assets as the basis for creating a waqf,
how does one define a moveable asset? More specifically, can money be con-
sidered a moveable asset and, therefore, be permitted as the basis for the
establishment of a foundation? Imam Zufer answered this question affir-
3) D6ndiiren, 1990.
4) ibzd.

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CASH WAQFS OF BURSA, 1555-1823 315
matively and ruled that the endowment of cash was absolutely pe

Zufer went into detail as to how such an endowment could be
he suggested the endowed cash form the capital base of a mudara
ship and any profit realized be spent in accordance with the gene
of the waqf as stated in its charter If the moveable assets endow
originally in a liquid cash form, then they should be sold in the m
and the cash thus obtained could be utilized as the capital of a
In summary, three principles constituted the foundation upon
later Ottoman jurists built the structure of the cash waqfs: the a
moveables as the basis of a waqf, acceptance of cash as a move
and, therefore, approval of cash endowments.
B Establishment of a Cash Waqf
A further debate in the establishment of Ottoman cash waqf

around the question of the irrevocability (liizum-u vakf). Accordi
Hanife, the founder of a waqf or his descendants could revoke th
decision and claim the endowed property back. That is to say,
not irrevocable. Ebu Hanife added, that for a waqf to become
and valid, a court's decision was necessary
Other great jurists of the Hanefi school did not agree with this
Ebu Yusuf, for instance, argued that when Prophet Mohamm
his property, his personal property rights became null and void.
neither the Prophet nor any of the four chalifs or the follow
Prophet, eshab, ever reversed their decision to endow their prope
scholars further argued that the establishment of a waqf was an
act, based upon the hadis pertaining to Omer's endowment.
This legal debate among the great Hanefi scholars was resolv
Ottomans as follows: a man wishing to establish a waqf informed
of his Intention thereby creating the waqf He later revoked his d
demanded the trustee of the waqf return his capital. When the latt
to do so, the case was brought to the court where the request
rejected by the judge who declared that a waqf, once establis
irevocable and definite (liizum ve katiyyet). Thus the condition de
by Ebu Hanife, i.e., the court's decision, was met and the wa
irrevocable and definite5).
There are many instances of the establishment of cash waqfs no
Bursa court registers. One particular case dated 1087/1676 should
5) Barkan-Ayverdi, 1970, p. XXIII).

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316 MURAT CIZAKCA
demonstrate the process described

Mehmed Ali b. Hasan, resident of the
had appointed Hasan Qelebi b. Mehmed
to be established with a rather modest c
was to be loaned to borrowers having sat
an "eleven to ten per annum" basis- (meb
iizere rehnz kavi ve kefil-z malt. istiglal v
The return from this investment was t
quet for the poor Muslims in the "zaviye
ing of every 12th Rebiiilevvel. The 50 Es
trustee. Later the endowment's founder
on the belief that the three imams did not consider the establishment of a
waqf with cash a legal act. The trustee responded that according to Imam-i
Ensari quoting imam-1 Ziifer, the cash waqf was legal (sahih). The two
disputants appealed to the court for an opinion. In his application to the
court, Mehmed Ali b. Hasan stated that since a waqf was not considered
irrevocable by Abu Hanife and, therefore, withdrawal from a decision to
establish a waqf was permitted, he wished to do so and demanded his capital
from the trustee of the waqf. The trustee responded by confirming that,
indeed, Abu Hanife had not considered a waqf as definitely irrevocable
(sihhat liizum ifade etmedigi) but Abu Yusuf, the "second imam" and Al-
Shaybani, the "third imam" had ruled that a waqf was both definite and
irrevocable and therefore he requested the decision of the court upholding
the irrevocability of the waqf. The judge ruled that the waqfwas definite and
irrevocable and that any attempt to abolish the waqf was null and void.
Moreover, the judge ruled, this decision was in agreement with the rulings
of all the "strong imams". This verdict finalized the procedure for the bind-
ing establishment of a cash waqf.
C. The Perpetuity Debate

The establishment of cash waqfs by the Ottomans during the 15th century
appears to have taken place, without legal complications. But during the
next century when these waqfs became so popular that they dominated the
ewqaf system, the military judge of the European provinces, Qivizade,
challenged the situation. His view was almost immediately countered by the
Seyhulislam Abussuud Efendi and a fierce debate began. Since the details
of this debate have already been published, they will not be summarized
here 6). Suffice it to say that the debate between these two great jurists and
6) Mandaville, 1979

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their followers lasted for more than a century and it remained i

Supported by the state, cash waqfs continued to exist and flouris
now focus our attention on the paradigm of perpetuity, the mos
in the debate, and seek answers to the following questions:
1 Since, one of the main points of the debate concerned the
perpetuity (proponents arguing that these endowments had
chance for survival as any other real estate endowments, and the
believing that they would collapse within a relatively short time)
be possible now, during the last decade of the 20th century,
retroactively which side of the debate was more true?
2. What factors caused their failure or supported their endurance
words, if these endowments, indeed, had rapidly disappeared,
the reasons behind this failure? Why were they so badly man
contrast, they succeeded in surviving for any length of time, then
the reasons for their relative success?
3. In what way did the cash waqfs contribute to the process of cap
accumulation? This question has to be approached from two perspect
i.e., from the point of view of savers as well as users of funds. Mo
specifically, did the savers pool their resources to form joint cash waqfs
did they add their capital to already existing ones? Did the users of capi
have access to several cahs waqfs so as to enlarge the available pool of cap
at their disposal?
4. In the process of transferring funds to entrepreneurs or to the publi
what extent was the Islamic prohibition of riba observed? In other w
are claims that cash waqfs violated the Islamic law justified')?
3 Cash Waqfs zn Historzcal Reality

A. Survival of the Cash Waqfs
Since perpetuity is considered to be the conditto sine qua non of any w

an analysis of the survival rate of the cash waqfs assumes great importa
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Barkan-Ayverdi study, there
published source that is relevant for this paradigm. Even this well-k
study suffers from two weaknesses: first, it covers a time span of merely
years and is therefore inappropriate for an analysis of perpetuity Se
closely related to the first weakness (since it is based upon an analysis of
three tahrtr registers), the fluctuations in the number of waqfs that sur
7) Barkan-Ayverdi, 1970, passim and Mandaville, 1979, passim).

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318 MURAT CIZAKCA
may be misleading. These fluctuat

there may have been more than o
waqf not observed in one regist
missing register
Bearing in mind these shortcomings of the Barkan-Ayverdi study, which
concentrated on the Istanbul waqfs, an attempt has been made in this article
to overcome these two weaknesses by a study of the Bursa cash waqfs. To
start with, the time span has been expanded to cover the period 963-
1239/1555-1823, i.e., a period of 268 years. Secondly, the analysis has been
based upon the individual cash waqf Thus, it has been possible to trace the
performance of a waqf over a long period and note often that a waqf that
seemed to have vanished at a certain point in time could be "re-discovered"
at a later period.
The main source used for this study is the set of registers which may be
called aptly the "vakif tahrir defterleri" or the cash waqf censuses. About
seventy volumes of these registers have been identified among the Bursa
Court Registers Collection. In order to facilitate the research, a sample had
to be made and those registers with approximately 20 years in between were
chosen. The details of these registers are presented below.
Table 1
Cash Waqf Census Registers
Year Source
963/1555 A 68/75
994/1585 A 136/163
1078/1667 B 135/350
1104/1692 B 169/385
1105/1693 B 169/385
1163/1749 B 170/386
1181/1767 B 199/423
1200/1785 B 352/736
1201/1786 B 352/736
1220/1805 B 197/802
1239/1823 B 308/548
Having selected our sam

thoroughly examine the deb
century, Qivizade and Sey
clude, some four hundred
accurate. The question t

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registered waqfs were perpetual"? But first, the term "perpetual" mu

defined. For all practical purposes, a perpetual waqf is defined her
which survived for more than a century. Thus, those waqfs which ha
vived for at least one hundred years were sought.
In order to find the answer to the problem of perpetuity, altogeth
cash waqfs were entered into the computer This constituted the
population of the research. Within this total population, however
were 761 individual waqfs which were repeatedly identified across seve
ferent years, hence the much larger total population figure. The main
tion can thus be re-stated; what percentage of these 761 waqf
"perpetual"'
In order to answer this question the entire waqf population was ana
by computer To help the computer identify distinct individual waqfs
decided that district (mahalle) would be the primary research unit
were usually several waqfs in each mahalle and each of the latter was
a separate code. The computer was ordered to arrange first the
population according to the mahalles in alphabetical order and sec
produce a chronological list of the waqfs in each mahalle. Wit
chronological list of district waqfs in hand, it was then a simple matt
search for an individual waqf and count the number of its occurrences
different registers and different years.
One of the greatest difficulties encountered in this research was th
tification of the mahalles. This difficulty became quite serious since th
ding clerks often omitted writing the name of the mahalle in which a w
established. Due to these circumstances, it was inevitable that man
could not be included in the research. Thus, the number of perpetual
observed represents a probable minimum of the total reality. This nu
was 148, that is to say, out of 761 individual waqfs, 148 definitely sur
for more than a century This gives us a "perpetuity percentage" o
It is quite clear that had it been possible to incorporate into the g
population those waqfs which could not be traced to a specific mahalle
percentage would have exceeded 20%.
Given this information, can we then pass ajudgement about the sixt
century debate of perpetuity? In other words, was Abussuud Efendi c
in arguing that cash waqfs had as good a chance as real estate waqfs fo
term survival 8)? Obviously, what has been presented above constitute
the first part of the answer to this question-that at least 20% of t
waqfs survived for more than a century For a complete answer, it
8) Mandaville, 1979, p. 299

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320 MURAT CIZAKCA
be necessary to determine the su

research has never been attempted
At this point it may be argued tha
have had a far better chance of sur
Efendi must have been wrong to ar
for survival as the former But th
should not be exaggerated. After all
frequent fires, earthquakes and th
they suffered from inelastic revenu
refused to increase their rents and w
port they enjoyed9). In short, erosi
impediment to the survival of the r
addressed separately.
B. Icareteyn Vakzflarz
When a major disaster struck waqf

work would have to be undertak
expenses would naturally have be
revenues of the endowment. The solution was found in an institution known
as the icareteyn vakzflarz, which may be translated as the "double rent
endowments."
The origin of this institution is subject to debate. Gerber has argued

the classical law manuals are silent about the icareteyn vakflart and tha
endowments were invented during the 16th century. According to Ge
these endowments were incorporated into the Ottoman jurisprudence
year 1020/1611-12, with the promulgation of a new law This law, belo
to the orbid of the state law, kanun, and was not an original Isla
concept10). However, this view is challenged by Akgfindiiz who traces
origin to the so-called wcare-z tavile by which the long term renting
endowment property became possible for the first time as early as the
century The zcare-z tavile, a simple method by which the trustee sign
cessive rent contracts in a single session, was approved by the well
Hanefite jurists Mohammed b. El-Fadl and Calfer El-Hindevani. M
over, the concept of a lump sum payment can also be observed in
writings of these early tenth century jurists 1). That wcare-z tavile ev
9) Akarli, 1987, pp. 227-229

10) Gerber, 1988, pp. 172-4.
11) Akgiindiiz, 1988, pp. 356-7

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during the next six centuries into the Ottoman icareteyn vakflarz is
an interesting idea which is supported by Klaus Kreiser Drawing ou
tion to a fifteenth centuryfetwa by Seyhiilislam Molla Giirani and
K6priilhi's work, Krelser has informed us that the concept of doub
was well known during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries12).
But this evolution did not occur smoothly, and the legality of th
was subject to an Intense debate lasting several centuries b
Ottomans emerged as a world power. The final outcome of the d
that such endowments could be permitted only following the decis
judge and in response to a dire necessity, zaruret. In any case, the p
tion of the 1611-12 law was apparently in response to such a zarure
took the form of a series of fires that caused large scale destructio
waqf property in Istanbul.
The new system was based upon two different types of rents: the
was a large lump sum amount, muaccele, paid promptly to the trus
waqf The second type, miieccele, was the normal annual rent. Acco
afetwa by Abulhay, the muaccele had to be roughly equal to the re
of the waqf property and the relationship between the two rents e
a ratio that varied between 1.30 and 1:112 i"). With the now sub
enhanced revenues of the waqf, the reconstruction work could be c
In order to make rental of a waqf property still attractive to p
tenants, the tenure was lengthened substantially, up to 90 years
Lengthening the tenure to nearly a century created two new p
The first one was the legal problem of circumventing the orthodox
hibition on the long term lease of a waqf. This problem was solved
device, hile-z serzye, which has been explained in detail by Ge
second problem was the more substantial one of confusion and even
of the waqf property over the long run. It goes without saying that
tenure increasing to just under a century, the waqf property
having, in practice, two "owners" which must have led to substa
fusion of property rights. As a result, some real estate waqf prope
have eventually been usurped by the new tenants who rented it as
There is substantial evidence that in Egypt, where the ninety year
was applied, probably, for the first time, this practice led to the e
of pseudo private property14).
12) Kreiser, 1986, p. 221.

13) Kreiser ibid., p. 224.
14) Gibb and Bowen, 1969, vol. I, part II, p. 177

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322 MURAT CIZAKCA
Although it is not possible within t

to quantify these arguments, subs
the evolution of the Ottoman wa
status of the person, mutasarrif, w
strictly speaking, when the former
endowment should have been cancel
was permitted. This transfer took th
perty to a third party. Bequeathing
to other relatives was permitted f
such transfers became legal, clearly
tially approached that of private
republican law of endowments, per
property against the payment of a
Until now, we have referred to th
by private individuals. But the grea
the state and need not be repeate
elsewhere 17). All of the above shou
estate waqfs for long term sur
Abussuud Efendi's argumentation
Before moving on to the next topic
vakiflar constituted the origin of th
initiated in the year 1695 and there
during the eighteenth century In t
vakzflarz, tax-farms were auctioned
cele, a large, lump sum payment a
introduced during a period of extre
deficits caused by the long and co
a crucial role in restoring state fina
Concerning the origin of the m
Ottoman financial authorities had
from Egypt "). It has been further
tains to waqf lands20). Thus, it will
as applied in Egypt, constituted the
authorities developed the concept of
15) E. Akarli, 1987, 229; B. Yediyildiz,

16) Hatemi, 1969, p. 81.
17) Cuno, 1992, pp. 21-24, Akarh, 1987
18) Gen?, 1975, passzm.
19) Geng, ibzd., pp. 285-286.
20) Gibb and Bowen, op.czt., p. 177

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C. The Management of the Cash Waqfs
Having observed the "perpetuity percentage" of the cash w

obvious question to ask at this point is one of management: how w
some twenty percent of the cash waqfs succeeded in surviving for m
a century in the first place? To answer the question we need to take
look at the way these waqfs were managed. More specifically, we w
cerned mainly here with the manner in which the capital of the w
invested by the trustee.
A typical eighteenth century waqf register contains the following
tion: 1 The name of the waqf and the purpose for which it was est
2. The name of the mahalle, district, in which the endowment was r
3 The name of the trustee. 4. The time period covered by the
Original capital of the waqf. 6. Later additions to the capital of
either by individuals or by other waqfs. 7 The balance of the n
thus formed. 8. The return obtained from the Investment of the
capital at the end of the year, the murabaha fi sene-z kamile. 9. Th
for which the annual return was designated, i.e., the expendi
elmesaryf. Finally, in the section known as the zimem, information
borrowers of the endowment capital was given: 10. The names o
rowers. 11. The amount of capital they borrowed. 12. The mahalle
borrowers lived. 13 The religious denomination of the borrowe
their gender. The invaluable wealth of information contained i
census registers stems from the standardized entry of data kept on
of endowments across a time span of nearly three hundred yea
aside the usual changes in the paleography, there are only two dist
discernible between a record kept in the sixteenth century and
eighteenth century; profit was called irad in the former period and
in the latter, and whereas in the earlier period there is no inform
plied about the borrowers, this information is available in the l
the exception of these differences, a sixteenth century waqf census
tains exactly the same type of Information as the one from the ei
century
A typical 18th century cash waqf entry would read like this; mu
mahsulat ve ihracat-z evkaf-z miislimzn bera-z avarzz ve niiziil mahalle-z or
brusa der zaman-z esseyzd halil ag~a el-miitevelli bil vakf el-mezburfi gurre-
el-haram sene 1200 ila gaye-z zilhicce el-serzf ii sene el-merkum, wh
translated, "the account of the revenue and expenditure of th
endowments for the purpose of (assisting) the avarzz and niiziil tax
(residents of the) Orhan Gazi district of the city of Bursa du

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324 MURAT CIZAKCA
trusteeship of Esseyid Halil aga, the trus

beginning of the month of Muharrem
of Zilhicce of the same year" 21). Thi
with an initial capital of 2377.5 grus. To
year was added which increased the c
three other waqfs further contributing
tion, 50 grus, was provided by the waqf
of reciting the mevlid. The second one, 8
Hatun, for the same purpose. Finally, t
came from the waqf of Hatim Hatun th
candles for the Orhan Gazi waqf. The to
increased from the original 2377.5 gr
gruq altogether.
This enhanced capital of 2729 gru? w
individuals. These investments generate
fi sene-z kamile, which represented 9 4
of this return of 257.5 grus, altogether
ment of avartz and niiziil taxes, to reci
the trustee and the bookkeeper, an
remaining 171 grus was called the zzyade
ing year to the capital of the endowme
This demonstrates, in brief, how a cas
shell, the endowed capital was distrib
rowers and the return from this invest
purposes. If the return exceeded,
expenses, the remainder was then added
ment the following year. In this brie
which cry out for an explanation. First
the initial capital.
The original capital of an endowmen
either the return of the invested capita
resulting profit was added to the capita
of their revenue to the endowment con
of food to the members of the guild of
the original capital of this endowm
endowments contributed to the capital
grus22). There is no satisfactory expla
21) B. 227/455-1/lb.
22) B. 227/455, p. 2/2b.

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phenomenon of the transfer of funds between endowments. Wh

explanation, the increased capital was invested in its entiret
transference to borrowers.
Having observed above that the original capital of the endowment co

be increased either by a reinvestment of the profit generated or by contrib
tions from other endowments, it will be argued here that there must hav
been a relationship between "perpetuity" and enhancement of the init
capital. Put differently, we have the impression that the "perpetual waqfs
owed their survival to the enhancement of their initial capital.
It has been stated above that 148 perpetual waqfs were studied. Of this to
a 25 % sample (36 perpetual waqfs) was created and the relationship betwee
the enhancement of their capital and their perpetuity was examined. T
results of this analysis is presented in Table 2 below Out of these 36 perpet
waqfs only 7, or 19% had not have their initial capital expanded. The
remainder, i.e., 81% of these waqfs had gone through a process of capi
enhancement. Thus our impression that the enhancement of the init
capital appears to have been an important factor in explaining
perpetuity of the endowments was confirmed.
Let us now examine the nature of the return of the invested capital, th
irad or murabaha. Was it based on a certain percentage of the capital inves
i.e., a rate of interest pure and simple or, was it solely the profit generat
by the invested capital? If the former is true, it goes without saying that t
would be in contradiction with the well known Islamic prohibition o
interest. In such a case an explanation concerning how the prohibition
circumvented would be necessary If the latter alternative is correct, i
return equals profit realized, then the return could conceivably entail
only a situation of profit but also a loss thereby causing a potential deplet
of the initial capital as well.
A cash waqf could invest its capital in one of these three methods:
mudaraba 2. bida'a 3 muamele-z 'serzyye. The first two methods are well kno
forms of Islamic finance and need not be explained here. The third expres
sion, on the other hand, is a general terminology covering various method
by which money could be lent to borrowers within the framework of Islam
jurisprudence. While these muamele-z serzye methods were permitted by t
jurists, it seems they were simple legal devices intent on obeying the lette
of the law while violating its spirit.
One of the most popular of these devices was known as istzglal, and
been described as follows:

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326 MURAT CIZAKCA
Table 2
Capital Enhancement and Perpetuzty

(a)
H. Year Waqf's Name From other Reinvested

Waqfs Profit
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. ABDAL MEHMET 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. AHMET DAI 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. ALACA HIRKA 1530.00 0.00
1104 V MESCID MAH. ALACA HIRKA 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. ALACA MESCID 140.00 0.00
963 V MESCID MAH. ALACA MESCID 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. AHMET PASA 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. ALI PASA 90.00 0.00
(b)
1078 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. ARABLAR 0.00 0.00
1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ MAH. ARABLAR 0.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I AVARIZ-I MAH. ARABLAR 0.00 16.00
1200 V MUHIMMAT-I MESCID VE AVARIZ MAH. A 103.00 0.00

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Waqfs Profit
1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. ATTAR HUSAM 0.00 0.00

1163 V MESCID VE AVARIZ ATTAR HUSAM 10.00 0.00
1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. AYSI BIN FENARI 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. BASCI IBRAHIM 0.00 0.00
1181 V AVARIZ-I MAH. BASCI ELHAC IBRAHIM 0.00 0.00
1078 V MESCID VE AVARIZ MAH. BILECIK 664.00 0.00
1104 V MESCID-I SERIF VE AVARIZ MAH. BILECIK 0.00
1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ BILECIK 335.00 28.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I AVARIZ-I MAH. BILECIK 0.00 66.00
1201 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ MAH. BILECIK 0.00 46.00
1239 V MESCID MAH. BILECIK 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. CAMII KALE 18.00 0.00
1105 V AVARIZ, IMAM.HATM, MUEZZIN CAMII KALE 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ VE MESCID MAH. CIRAG BEY 0.00 0.00
1181 V AVARIZ-I MAH. CIRAG BEY 0.00 91.00
1201 V AVARIZ-I CIRAG BEY 179.00 422.50
1239 V AVARIZ-I MAH. CIRAG BEY 0.00 0.00
1105 V MESCID VE SEM VE IMAM MAH. CEKIRGE 0.00 0.00
1239 V MESCID MAH. CEKIRGE 0.00 0.00
1105 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. COBAN BEY 0.00 0.00
1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ-I MAH. COBAN BEY 0.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ MAH. COBAN BEY 0.00 41.50
1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ MAH. COBAN BEY 0.00 59.00
(c)
1078 V MESCID MAH. CELEBILER 0.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I MAH. CELEBILER 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. ELVAN BEY 1810.00 0.00
1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. EBU SAHME 0.00 0.00

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Waqfs Profit
1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ MAH. FAZULLAH PASA 395.00 0.00

1200 V MOHIMAT-I MESCID VE AVARIZ MAH. P 80.00 0.00
1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. FAZULLAH P 900.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-1 MAH. FILBOZ 0.00 0.00
1105 V AVARIZ-I MAH. FILBOZ 0.00 0.00
1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. GAZI HUDAVENDIGAR 0.00 0.00

1200 V AVARIZ-I GAZI HUDAVENDIGAR 0.00 100.00
1105 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. H. MEHMET KARA 0.00 0.00
1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ 0.00 4.50
1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I HOCA MEHMET KARA 0.00 0.00
1105 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HACI SEYFEDDIN 0.00 0.00
1105 V MESCID MAH. HACI SEYFEDDIN 0.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I MAH. HACI SEYFEDDIN 50.00 18.50
1239 V MESCID MAH. HACI SEYFEDDIN 0.00 23.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HOCA YUNUS 300.00 0.00

(d)
1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HACI SUBHI 0.00 0.00

1078 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. HOD 750.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I AVARIZ-I MAH. HOD?? 0.00 0.00
1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. HOD 0.00 0.00
1104 V MESCID MAH. HOSKADEM MAKRAMAVI 0.00 0.00

1105 V MESCID MAH. HOSKADEM MAKRAMAVI 0.00 0.00
1181 V MIHRAB-I MAH. HOSKADEM MAKRAMAVI 0.00 0.00
1201 V MUHIM.MESC. MAH. HOSKADEM MAKRAMAVI 150.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ VE CESME MAH. HACI ISKENDER 0.00 0.00

1181 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HACI ISKENDERO.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HACILAR 117.00 0.00


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Waqfs Profit

963 V MESCID MAH. HACI BABAO.00 0.00
963 V MESCID MAH. HACI BABA 0.00 0.00
1239 V MESCID MAH. HACI BABA 0.00 56.00
1105 V AVARIZ-I MAH. IMARET-I AYSI BEY 0.00 0.00
1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. INCIRLICE 0.00 0.00
1078 V MESCID MAH. KAVAKLI 1200.00 0.00

1163 V MIHRAB-I MAH. KAVAKLI 0.00 0.00
1181 V V MIHRAB-I MAH. KAVAKLI 0.00 11.50
1201 V MIHRAB-I MAH. KAVAKLI 0.00 134.00
In 17th century Bursa istzglal des

construed as a sale: the borrowe
estate, supposedly as a sale, but
his debt after one year, the asset
leased the asset to the borrower (
the "rent" which was often exactl
In short, we have here a simple in
as security23).
Thus, through istiglal and othe

waqfs to lend money (on inter
they actually lend money on in
the answer to this question by e
search also shed light upon a
historians and jurists. This deb
which claimed that the cash w
authors were then joined by M
The views of these historians th
thus violated Islamic law becam
23) Gerber, 1988, p. 128.

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330 MURAT CIZAKCA
jurists specializing in Islamic law

published in Turkish in a recent b
Istanbul, the historians' views we
methods by which the cash waqfs
had been scrutinized carefully b
legal. More specifically, it was a
by some of the terminology used
for instance, which some historia
or interest, simply meant that
transferred as karz-z hasene, lendi
profit to be earned by the invest
back by the borrower to the waqf.
the borrower was required to mak
cipal plus a share of this profit.
translated as "eleven out of ten",
for every ten dirhems earned by the
should be returned to the waqfP5
The crucial word here is "earn
amount returned to the waqfby t
earned, then this would be a prof
for yet another debate.
Once again, we are in a position
the profit/capital ratios for each
the return of the capital was in t
expect that the profit/capital rati
ing the ever changing amounts of
capital. If the return, however, w
expect to see more or less constan
stant returns to the invested capi
Before we start this analysis, h
between judicial and economic i
exhibit a constant trend and the r
must be remembered that this pe
a judicial one. This is because, as
issue had been resolved centuri
methods of lending which mode
pertain in actual fact to economic
24) Qizakga-Qiller, 1989

25) D6ndiiren, 1990.

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was concerned these instruments were permitted and not cat

interest. Most of the Ottoman jurists had no doubts about the
these instruments.
To find an answer to the question of whether the murabaha or irad con-
stituted an economic interest, 1563 waqfs and their respective profit/capit
ratios covering the period 1078-1220/1667-1805 had been entered into t
computer This evaluation constituted a major part of an earlier study26
Only four of these waqfs exhibited significant fluctuations while all the rest
i.e., 1559 of them, produced returns of between 9 and 12 per cent. Thu
we conclude, although the financial Instruments utilized by the cash waqfs
were considered to be legal and approved by the courts, these constant rati
strongly suggest that an economic interest prevailed. The details a
presented below
Table 3
Economic Interest Rates in Bursa
Year Average profit/capital ratio

(economic interest)
963/1555 10.8%
1078/1667 10.8%
1104/1692 10.8%
1105/1693 10.6%
1163/1749 11.5%
1181/1767 11.1%
1200/1785 11.5%
1201/1786 11.0%
1220/1805 11.5%
1239/1823 13.0%
At this point it would

observation. First of all,
in Bursa is diametrically
observed in the West2
should constitute the s
to have existed a secon
conclusion is suggested b
ing among the sarraf i
higher than the Bursa in
26) Qizakga, ISAV, 1993,

27) Clark, 1991, pp. 213, 2

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332 MURAT CIZAKCA
sions: first, the cash waqfs were

market interest rate and were n
limit imposed by their founders.
rates of interest prevailing in the
lower rate. Consequently, it would
Bursa cash waqf and to lend the
interest, say, to the sarrafs, bank
We will investigate this speculati
fice to note that evidence from ot
sider, for instance, the forthcomi
has shown that the trustee of a w
poor at 20 or 30% "interest" ther
that only 10% "interest" be cha
attention of the court and the trustee was accused of fraud.
It is possible to find literally thousands of endowment documents, vakjf
names, which impose a maximum level of economzc interest to be charged
Consider the following cases: In the month of Safer, 919/1513, El-H
Sfileyman b. El-Hac (?) endowed 70 000 silver dirhems. Of this, 30 0
dirhems was to be spent for the construction of a school and the remainin
40.000 was to be loaned as muamele-z seryye and zstzglal with 10% ann
murabaha. The revenue thus obtained was to be spent as follows; 3 dirhem
daily wage to the teacher of the school, 1 dirhem to his assistant, 1 dirhem
to the person who recites the Kur'an, and 2 dirhems to the trustee of the
endowment 29).
Another original document found among the Bursa Court Registers 3
informs us that a certain Mfikrime Hatun binti Abdiilhalik had endow
91.000 silver coins issued during the reign of Sultan Selim. This capital wa
to be loaned in muamele-z serzyye and its istirbah was to be ensured. The ann
return, rzbh, was not to exceed or fall below 12.5%. The trustee was h
responsible that in loaning to borrowers, riba, interest, was to be avoid
under all circumstances. Thus, we are informed that a maximum rate w
imposed by the founders of the waqfs themselves and that this rate was l
than the prevailing market rate.
Looking at the situation from a purely economic point of view, it may
suggested that if other institutions, like the sarraf, existed that fully exploi
the high market demand for capital by charging higher rates of interest,
then eventually such institutions would expand at the expense of the c
28) Jennings, title unknown.

29) A 23/25, 61b.
30) A 21/27, 33a, dated 3 Sevval 923/1517

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waqfs which due to moral and religious considerations were n

ted to charge beyond a maximum rate. We will have more to
argument when we consider the decline of the cash waqfs.
4. Injection of Capital into the Economy
A. The Trustees as Borrowers
The points just made may be investigated further by a careful an

the borrowers. It has been indicated above that after the year 1
Bursa waqf tahrzr registers contain a section for each waqf that in
about the persons who borrowed the capital of the endowment.
carefully into these sections it should be possible to identify freque
rowers, or those who borrowed regularly from a multitude of endo
These individuals were most likely the ones who borrowed at the lo
offered by the cash waqfs of Bursa and lent this cash at the higher
the sarrafs of Istanbul. The careers of two trustees extending from
to 1200/1785 in the district of Timurtas in Bursa illustrates this po
First of all, we note that these persons had administered as many
different endowments. Thus, it seems, the trusteeship had by
emerged as a distinct profession. Halil Efendi received 69 grus
akges salary, mevacib, annually from these establishments in the y
Eighteen years later, in 1181, he was still managing seven found
the same district and his annual salary had increased to 76 grus
akges. But he was not satisfied by this-he had begun borrowing
very foundations that he administered. The total amount he bor
1181 amounted to 14 grus and was obtained from two different fou
In the year 1200/1785, a certain Ahmet Efendi replaced Hali
mentioned above. This Ahmet Efendi served as the trustee of six ca
in the same Timurtas district. Four of these six endowments were t
as those managed previously by Halil Efendi. Ahmet Efendi earned
of 50.5 grus from these endowments, considerably less than Hal
76 grus, 360 akges. But Ahmet Efendi was a much greater borr
borrowed a total of 79 grus, far in excess of Halil Efendi's 14 gr
four of the endowments he was managing
These two cases give us the impression that not only had tru
emerged as a distinct profession, but also that trustees were em
major borrowers as the eighteenth century progressed. This in
tendency for trustees to borrow is also confirmed by a more
analysis involving a 25% sample for the years 1749-1823 The d
presented below.

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334 MURAT CIZAKCA
Table 4
Capztal Borrowed by the Trustees

(25 % Sample)
Year Total Amount Borrowed Amount Borrowed %

Akre Grus by the Trustees
1749 48.247 31.902 1.217 gr. 4
1767 117.084 7.553 gr. 6
1785 30.301 2.771 gr. 9
1823 154.052 15.669 gr. 10
Table 4 reveals that the r

Amount Borrowed", stead
to 10% in 1823, indicating
of the waqf capital.
Table 4 is supported by th
who borrowed capital as a p
Table 5
Number of Trustees Who Borrowed Capital
Year Total Number of Borrowers No. of Trustees %

1749 625 15 2
1767 1623 93 5
1785 395 21 5
1823 714 47 6
Thus, we lea
borrowed c
Tables 4 and
by the trust
Table 6
Credit per Capita Borrowed by the Trustees
Year Number of Borrowers Amount Borrowed Credit per cap.

1749 15 1.217 gr. 81 gr.
1767 93 7.553 gr. 81 gr.
1785 21 2.771 gr. 132 gr.
1823 47 15.669 gr. 333 gr.

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Based upon the last three tables, we can now conclude that t
were becoming more and more significant as borrowers. Sinc
trolled the cash waqfs it must have been relatively easy for them
capital from these institutions. The rate at which they borrowed
to have been substantially lower than the prevailing market r
quently, it is argued here that the trustees must have earned
amounts by exploiting the difference between the two rates o
existing in the capital market.
B. Capital Injection
All the information presented above supports the fact that cash
responsible for a large scale injection of capital into the economy
An attempt will be made to quantify this statement.
Table 7 represents, once again, the results of an analysis m
25% random sample. The columns with total figures may reve
tion that is not complete due to the possibility of a loss of registe
ing to the year in consideration. The figures in the first thre
therefore, should be viewed as minimum figures. Columns four t
considerably more important. Column four indicates the aver
of capital that was received by a borrower. Column five indicates
amount increased by 43% from 1163/1749 to 1200/1785. It s
given year, 10 to 12 persons, on average, borrowed from a single
umn six). But some waqfs provided credit to as many as 37 to
within a given year (column seven).
Table 7
Injection of Capital by Cash Waqfs (in grus)
I II III IV V VI VII
Sample Size Total Credit Total No of Credit Change Average Maximum

No of Waqfs Provided (Gr) Borrowers per cap in cpc No of No of
1749-85 Borrowers Borrowers
1749 59 31902 599 53 10 37

1767 154 117084 1662 70 43% 11 42
1785 32 30031 395 76 12 39
If we take 1767 as the y

tion, and multiply 166
number of borrowers f

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336 MURAT CIZAKCA
tion of the total number of bor

clude that in a given year durin
thousand persons were provided w
city of Bursa.
To obtain a figure for the tota
should also multiply the credit
by four. This gives us almost h
wonder about the relative signifi
with the data provided by Mehm
cloth press, mukataa-z resm-i menge
tevabii, for the years 1757-1788,
economy of Bursa by the cash wa
amount withdrawn by the state t
But the redistributive function o
the cash injected into the econo
credit to a select group. On t
privileged few was voluntarily re
tion occurred simultaneously. Evi
below
In this context an assessment of the more than six thousand. persons who
were provided with credit needs to be made. Indeed, what does this figure
imply? Unfortunately, a reliable estimation of Bursa's population for the
18th century is not available. The only estimate this author is aware of has
been made by Erder based upon the reports of French travellers. Accord-
ingly, in the early eighteenth century, Bursa had a population of about
50 000 to 65 00032). By the end of the next century this figure had reached
76.00033). Thus, it would be reasonable to argue that for most of the eigh-
teenth century Bursa probably had a population of about 65-70,000 In view
of these numbers, we can conclude that about 8.5% to 9% of the total
population of Bursa resorted to the cash waqfs of the city as a source of
credit.
At this point, however, we must point out another difficulty in

analysis-the repetitiveness of the data. We do not know if these approx-
imately six thousand borrowers were six thousand separate individuals or
if a particular group of people borrowed from a multitude of endowments
in a given year. The answer to this question is important also from another
perspective: capital pooling.
31) Geng, 1975, p. 273.

32) Erder, 1976, p. 60.
33) Cuinet, 1894, vol. IV, p. 120.

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In view of the difficulty presented by the Muslim names, in searchi

an answer to this problem, it was necessary to develop a method that
reveal specific information about each one of the more than six th
borrowers. This study was facilitated by the availability of two ad
types of information. the name of the district, mahalle, in which the b
resided and his profession. To facilitate the research further, a sampl
to be taken. This time four of the most popular Turkish names were
Ahmet, Mehmet, Ali and Mustafa. The computer was then ordered
all the Ahmets, together with the names of the endowments from whi
borrowed, the name of the district in which each one lived,
the profession of each one and the amount borrowed by each. The same
process was repeated for each of the other names. As a result, 133
individuals were identified by professions. Leaving aside one interesting
case whereby a mother and a son had borrowed from the same endowment,
it became clear that only one individual, a certain Ali Molla, had borrowed
from two different endowments in the year 1767. This gives us a ratio o
7.5 per thousand. Thus, within the obvious constraints of our sample, it is
concluded that capital pooling was practiced by only 7.5 per thousand of the
borrowers. This gives, as a very rough estimate, the impression that out of
the 6648 borrowers only about fifty were involved in capital pooling. In
view of what has been explained above about the increasing importance of
the trustees as borrowers, it can be argued that most of these fifty borrowers
plausibly belonged to this particular profession. This argument is supported
by a previous study which showed that another profession that would have
been most likely to utilize the cash waqf sources, i.e., the silk sector, rarely
did so. In fact, the ratio Silk Credits/Total Credits never exceeded 3%
during the period 1749-178514).
5 The Social Dimension
In this section we will concentrate on the way the cash waqfs prov
important social services to the society. All the registers analyzed in this
cle contained valuable information about such expenditures. To search
the basic patterns of social spending by the cash waqfs, once again, a 25
sample was created and each item of expenditure revealed by the sam
data was categorized. This process was repeated for each year in the h
that the resulting table would inform us about changing social values of
Ottoman society in Bursa.
34) Qizakra, 1993, p. 722.

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338 MURAT CIZAKCA
The first column of Table 8 shows the various

made by the cash waqfs. A brief explanation
Administration: In this category the salaries o
paid by the cash waqfs are included. An item ref
the account fee, is included under administra
accountant's service fee. This item is interestin
in akpes, the Ottoman coin of the classical peri
Education: This item is quite straightforward.
by the endowments to teachers. In passing, it m
was considered to be largely a waqf respons
teacher, muallim, or a professor, miiderrs, to a
with the conditions laid down by the founder o
tion usually stated the salary to be paid to the
pay a lower salary whereas an increase was p
schools, were ranked according to the salary th
employed, increasing the salary meant that
raised35). The increased expenditure was financ
fit of the waqf, assuming it was sufficient for t
extra profits earned by other foundations. T
enhancement of some endowments throu
others-a process documented in Table 2 abov
Food: Many founders wished for food to be pr
ticular district. Some small foundations did
festivities while others offered food daily to an
sion of food was particularly popular among
to do guild member established a waqf, he woul
be provided to the members of his guild.
Family- Some founders wished that the endow
to family members for generations to come.
in the literature as the ehli vakzflar The questi
the foundations were ehli and what percentage
has puzzled researchers for sometime36).
Justice: Some endowments assigned salaries
This item designates such expenditures as well a
known as mahpus ve zindan. The latter pertains
for prisoners.
35) Baltaci, 1976, p. 28.

36) Roded, 1989, p. 62-65.

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Table 8
Expenditure Analysts of Cash Waqfs (I)
Expenditure 994/1585 1078/1667 1163/1749 1181/1767 1201/
Category AKQES Akge Grub Akqe G

Administration 16 persons 20 prs 5 prs 57 p
14.396 6634 28 5 4770 107 10.322 207 8085 12
Education 17 persons 15 prs 1 prs 6 prs - 14 prs 2 prs 15

64380 9344 40 435 2825 4734 209
-o 11 prs. 3 prs. 12 prs. - 35 prs. 2 prs 22 pr
Food 7038 9 - 189 5 - 820 5 1660 602
1 prs - - - - - - -
Family540 - - - - -
Justice1180
1 prs -
- prs
-3
1 prs
360 -
Maintenance
12 610 18 757 309 105 492 180 1140 5 180
Miscellaneous 5 persons 66 prs 4 prs 54 prs 2 prs 113 prs 1 prs 69 prs
1.860 7430 5 4135 92 10.100 45 7045
10 persons 16 prs 1 prs - 7 prs 1 prs 6 prs 1 prs 3
9 060 8216 17 - 44 5 404 29 1080
Rent - 8 prs. -1 prs 2 prs 1 prs 2 prs. 5 p
1464 3 340 15 245 5
Religion 27 pe
29 381 69.646 376 4670 791.5 1184 2712 7021
Social (Ams) - - - - - - 5 prs 1 prs 4 pr
- - - 118 1008 37
Tax 30 prs. 7 prs. 23 prs. - 37 prs - 23 p

102558 240 - 10945 - 16955
Trustees 30.674
24 persons 51 prs 11 prs 1 prs 59 prs 4 prs 106 prs 7
32.930 162 241 388 1587 828 6586
Water Works 8 prs 1 prs - 7 prs - 41 prs - 28 pr

4960 40 149 - 506 - 163
Workers - -S-
- - 28
-
prs.
- -
1 prs.
340
8 prs.
1
1 prs.
110
TOTAL 103 persons 372 70 116 prs 242 prs 264 559 1
162 361 270697 1228 13 921 3 394 24 157 8 390 38 114

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340 MURAT CIZAKCA
Maintenance: This item includ

maintaining a mosque, a school
cleaning etc., are all grouped un
Miscellaneous: This is just what
in the traditional Ottoman coin, a
Mosque: Expenses specific to
category.
Rent, mukataa-z zemin: This t
mukataalh vakyflar, a rather co
endowments vertically co-exist
belongs to a waqf and the buildin
who also initiates his own endowm
we designate the former as the lo
it is clear that the upper endowm
Table 8 the mukataa-z zemin was
paid by the endowments, this e
Religion: This category encom
functionaries such as the Hafiz, vazz
melek.
Social Services: Here, some municipal services such as the repairs of the
pavements, public baths as well as the payments of alms to the poor of the
district or to the poor attached to a certain zaviye are included.
Tax: Many endowments reserved a substantial part of their outlay for
helping the residents of a certain district towards the payment of their avarzz
ve niizul taxes.
Trustees: The trustees of some foundations were assigned salaries. The
expenses for such salaries are included in this category
Water works: Provision of water, or the repairs of water canals etc., con-
stituted an important expense item for many foundations.
Workers: Some founders reserved a specific annual amount for cleaners,
repairers etc. This way they ensured the proper maintenance of religious or
educational buildings either endowed by themselves or by others.
Columns two to seven contain detailed information about the expenditure
for each of the categories just explained for a specific year. While the second
column is unique in that its expenses are expressed only in the classical
Ottoman coin akCe, the others are split into two sections containing both the
former and the gruzs, a coin modelled after the European Groschen38).
37) Oztfirk, 1983, p. 107

38) Pamuk, 1992.

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The rows (categories) are also divided into two sections. The
tion designated as "persons", gives us the number of individua
paid regular salaries, in akCes or in grus, by the waqfs under
category being considered. The lower part shows the total amo
either coin by the waqfs to all individuals included in the particula
At the bottom of the table we have a row reserved for the gran
The upper part of this row gives the total number of Indivi
salaries in all categories by all the waqfs. The lower part, on the o
shows the total amount of salaries paid by all the waqfs to all the
As usual, the wide fluctuations observed in both sections simply r
fact that the original data included in the registers varied In size
to year Consequently, if we are to Interpret this data it is essent
entire Table 8 should be expressed in percentages. This has bee
the outcome can be seen in Table 9.
Table 9 simply converts the data presented in the previous t

percentages. Let us now take each category and interpret it. We star
the expenses of the waqfs earmarked for administration, i.e., the fi
First of all, we note in column one that for the year 994/1585 the
umn is entirely missing. In view of the monetary history of the pe
is quite normal"39). The columns pertaining to later periods contain b
and grus figures.
Row 1/column 1 indicates that in the year 994/1585, 15% of the p
who were paid salaries by the waqfs were in the administration
These individuals however, received only 9% of the 162.361 akfes i.e
expenditure of all the waqfs Included in the sample for that yea
percentages in this table are rounded up). In the following years we
two major trends: beginning with 1163/1749 the akCe figures for th
tage of persons paid stabilize around 40-49 % with a slight tendency
while the grus figures stabilize around 4%. This high percentage for
figures is caused by the fact that the administration category w
always paid in akCes even in the later periods when this particular c
supposed to have disappeared entirely"4). If as Pamuk claims, the ak
indeed, become merely a unit of account, then an explanation
endurance of this coin in waqf registers in such large percentages w
the nineteenth century is needed.
The row denoting education reveals that the percentage of person
education category paid regular salaries by the waqfs, declined subst
39) ibtd., passzm.

40) ibid passim.

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Table 9
Expenditure Analysis for Cash Waqfs (II)--The R
Expenditure 994/1585 1078/1667 1163/1749 1181/1767 12
Category Akge Gru? Akqe Gr

Administration % of persons 0.15 - 0.05 0.07 0.49 0.06 0.42 0.0
% of total expenditure 0.09 0.02 Ox.02 0.34 0.03 0.42 0.
Education % of persons 0.16 - 0.04 0.01 - 0.02 - 0.02
% of total expenditure 0.40 0.03 0.03 - 0.01 - 0.03
Food % of persons - - 0.03 0.04 - 0.05 - 0.06 0.0
% of total expenditure - 0.02 0.007 - 0.06 - 0.10
Family% of %total
of persons
expenditure - - 0.003 . . ..-- -
- - 0.002
Justice % of
% of total expenditure persons
- - 0.004 - - - 0.0004 0
Maintenance % of persons 0.04 0. 17 0.21 0.02 0.21 0.008 0.2
% of total expenditure 0.08 "0.07 0.25 0.008 0.14 0.007 0.
Miscellaneous % of persons
% of total expenditure 0.05
0.01 0.03 0.004 - 0.03
0.30 0180.41
0.06
0.0
Mosque %expenditure
% of total of persons 0.10
0.06 - 0.03 0.01 - 0.02
- 0.01 0.040.003
Rent % of persons -? - 0.02 . - 0.004 0.008 Ox.002
% of total expenditure - - 0.05 - 0.0009 0.01 0.0002
Religion % of persons 0.26 - 0.22 0.31 0.02 0.24 0.008 0.28
% of total expenditure 0.18 - 0.26 0.31 0.34 0.23 0.05 0.
Social (Aims) % of persons - - - - - - - 0.009 0.006

% of total expenditure - - - - - - 0.01 0.0
Tax % %of
oftotal
persons - - 0.08
expenditure - - 0.10 - 0.10
0.38 0.20 - 0.0
- 0.32 -
Trustees % of persons 0.23 - 0.14 0.16 0.009 0.24 0.015 0.19
% of total expenditure 0.19 - 0.12 0.13 0.017 0.11 0.06 0
Water Works % of persons - - 0.02 0.01 - 0.03 - 0.07
% of total expenditure - - 0.02 0.03 - 0.04 - 0.0
Workers % of persons - -- - 0.11 0.002 0.05 0

% of total expenditure -. - - - 0.01 0.0001 0.003
TOTAL persons 103 - 372 70 116 242 264 559 1
P I...
expenditure 162.361 - 270697 1228 1

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in akCe terms from 16 % to 2 % This decline in the number o

the education sector supported by the waqf system was matched
more dramatic decline in the percentage of the total expenditu
to education. In the year 1585, 40% of the total expenditure i
the cash waqf system was allocated to this sector This perce
reduced dramatically to 7 % almost three hundred years later
1823. Actually, the sharpest decline, from 40% to 3%, appea
occurred between 1585 and 1667. These figures are in akpes. Bu
does not differ much if we look at the grus figures. By the time
begins to be expressed in grus, in the year 1667, the percentage o
expenditure allocated to education has already been reduced to
At the end of the period, in the year 1823, this percentage had b
reduced to 1%. Thus, we conclude that between 1585 and 1823
lost its relative importance within the Bursa cash waqf system su
Why did the inhabitants of Bursa so consistently reduce the
on education? A partial answer may have been provided by Ma
who has informed us that in the year 1715, with two imper
Ahmed III deliberately downgraded the medreses of Bursa and
granted the Istanbul medreses a monopolistic right to select an
Ottoman religious intelligensia41). However, while this d
downgrading may help us explain the situation during the eighte
tury, it is of no use in explaining the even more serious decli
in the earlier period, between 1585 and 1667. The reasons for
decline are not known and call for a separate research.
In sharp contrast to education the food sector appears to hav
a greater importance within the system. Considering first the ak
we note that the percentage of persons supported by the cash wa
from 3% in the year 1667, to 0.9% at the end of the period i
this decline should not mislead us as it may simply reflect the fa
the food sector, unlike the administration sector observed abo
was used less in the later periods. This hypothesis is confirmed
at the more reliable grus figures, which start with 4% in the yea
increase to 6% in 1823 Now, in reviewing the percentage of to
allocated to food by the cash waqfs in the lower section of th
increasing relative importance of this sector becomes more ob
centrating on the more reliable grus figures we note that this per
increased from 0 7 % in 1667 to 20% at the end of the period in 1
education and food appear to have followed diametrically oppo
41) Zilfi, 1988, pp. 60-61.

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344 MURAT CIZAKCA
The next row illustrating the ex

families is most revealing. We ha
year 1667. Even that is a negligib
does not contain any information
cussed distinction42) between the
and charitable waqfs, appears t
Indeed, the data tends to reveal
lished in this city were charitabl
to provide a livelihood for the
negligible. But, we will have m
"trustees" category below.
Justice constitutes another cat
among the founders of the cash w
negligible amounts were allocate
Looking first at the akCe figur
involved in maintenance and suppo
and 2 % throughout the period. L
however, we notice a modestly
by the end of the period. In rev
diture allocated to maintenance, an
figures, we note that after an all
declines to 145% where it stays u
The expenditures for the next c
observed administration, were m
This is also confirmed by the akC
stituted some 40% of the total ex
latter never exceeded 3% Why
administration and miscellaneous
is not known.
In the next category the mosque, all the evidence, whether in akCes or
grus, indicates declining trend of both expenditures and the number of p
sons supported by the system.
The very low figures for the rent category indicate that the cash waqfs p
negligible amounts toward rent.
Although tthe next category is simply identified as religion, it basically
consists of salaries paid by the waqfs to persons who fulfilled religious fun
tions. These expenses appear to have followed a cyclical trend over the lon
run. Looking first at the percentage of individuals active in this categ
42) Roded, 1989, pp. 62-65.

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who were paid in gru,s, we note a slight decline between 1667

then the ratio increased and eventually reached 38% by
period. Thus, more than a third of all persons supported by t
were in this category A similar story is revealed by the lower
column. The percentage of total expenditures (in akCes) al
category increased steadily from 18% in 1585 to 34% in the y
we observe the maximum. Afterwards, there is a decline to 1
of the period. This percentage is, by the way, equal to what w
with at the beginning of the period. As for the payments in
starts with 31% In 1667 and then continues with minor flu
the end of the period. Based upon this data it can be concl
one third of all the resources of the cash waqf system in Bur
to the "religion" category and that this category malntain
importance throughout the period.
The sample reveals no data on the category of social spending
1767. Nothwithstanding this, we observe an increasing tre
the year 1767 to 7% by the end of the period.
The next category tax, actually comprises avarzz and niizul ta
there was collective responsibility These taxes were appor
the districts, mahalles, and every household was held responsib
ment of these taxes. Consequently, any attempt, no matter h
to relieve the residents of a certain district from this burden must have been
greatly appreciated. Thus, it can be safely argued that a person who
establishes a waqf for this purpose must have enjoyed an instant boost in his
social standing These arguments are confirmed by the enormous
popularity of the avarzz-niizul waqfs among the founders. Looking at the grus
figures beginning with 1667, we note that for more than a century, until
1786, the percentage of the total expenditure allocated to this category was
maintained. But why there was such a dramatic decline between 1786 and
1823, the end of the period, is not known and calls for a separate research.
The next row reveals that throughout the period between 13 % and 24%
of persons receiving salaries from cash waqfs were the trustees themselves.
The percentage of the total expenditure allocated to this category varied
around an arithmetic mean of 12% (in grus) between 1667 and 1823 This
is not a negligible percentage and casts a shadow of doubt upon the earlier
conclusion drawn concerning the hayrz vs. ehli waqfs. It was concluded above
that the number of ehli, family endowments was negligible. But then we
encounter these figures of 24% and 12% pertaining to the trustees. Could
it be that these two categories were linked somehow3 Could it be that the
trustees who were paid such a substantial percentage of the total expen-

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346 MURAT CIZAKCA
diture were in fact, relatives or descendants of the founders of the

endowments? This is quite possible for the registers do not inform us if the
trustees were in any way related to the founders. The Vakif Tahrtr Defterlerz
which constitutes the main source for this chapter cannot solve this puzzle.
The answer must be sought in the so-called vakyfname, the documents of
establishment, a different source altogether
Although the percentage were relatively small in the next category, water
works, the trend nevertheless, appears to have been increasing.
Finally, workers constituted a totally unimportant category.
6. The Decline of the Cash Waqfs
Thanks to an unpublished M.A. thesis we have recently learned of the

substantial decline in the relative importance of cash waqfs as a source of
credit. According to Seyhun, in the year 1909, cash waqfs yielded 7500 grus
interest in Istanbul and 9400 grus in the provinces, thus a total of 16900
grus, while the total revenue of the ewqaf ministry amounted to 56.966.000
gru,s43). By contrast, in the same year the Ziraat Bankasi, an agricultural
bank, singularly advanced about ten times this amount, 563 million grub, as
credit. The credit advanced by the Ottoman Bank, on the other hand,
reached a staggering 1,102 million grus44). While Seyhun does not make it
clear if the entire capital of the cash waqf system was included in the total
revenue indicated above, it was apparently not. He informs us that in the
year 1914 a new bank called the ewqaf Bankast was established. The capital
of this bank was 500,000 liras, 500 000.000 grus, and consisted of almost
entirely endowed money. Thus, the entire money endowed to the cash waqf
system amounted to, at the most, 500 million gru,s which was still less than
the credit advanced by the Ziraat Bankasi alone as mentioned above. In
short, the cash waqf system was superseded by modern banks as suppliers
of credit.
Apparently there were two distinct reasons behind this decline: economic
and administrative. Let us first concentrate on the former. It has already
been mentioned that the cash waqfs charged a fixed rate of economic Interest
which did not change over the long run. The rigidity of this rate was caused
by conditions stipulated by the founders at the time of the establishment of
these endowments. Once so determined, these rates could not be changed
in response to the changing economic conditions and any attempt to do so
was considered to be against the law.
43) Seyhun, 1992.

44) Eldem, 1970, p. 234.

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While the rates charged by cash endowments thus remained fixed, t

developed other sources of finance which were not hampered by such
tions. The sarraf, money changers, charged rates determined by the su
and demand for money. Consequently, there developed a capital mar
which two different rates of interest prevailed.
It was argued above that under these conditions it would make se
borrow money from cash waqfs which supplied the relatively cheaper
and then sell this to the sarrafs who would re-sell it with a mark-up t
public. It was further argued that the trustees of the cash waqfs were
ideal position to perform such transactions and, indeed, it was sho
evidence for the above argument that they were emerging as majo
rowers of capital from the very endowments that they controlled.
Even more definitive evidence supporting this idea has been found in
archives of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseille. The correspondenc
French merchants residing in Istanbul inform us that, indeed, the mar
rate of interest prevailing in that city was substantially higher th
economic interest charged by the cash waqfs of Bursa. To demonstrate
point Table 3 presented above has been re-formulated in order to in
information from the French sources.
Table 10
Year Econ. Interest Market Interest Source

Charged by Bursa Rate in Istanbul
cash waqfs
963/1555 10.8% A 68/75
1643 20% ACCM, J141
1078/1667 10.8% B135/350
1672 25% ACCM, J143
1686 257% ACCM, J145
1687 18% ACCM, J145
1104/1692 10.8% B 169/385
1105/1693 10.6% B169/385
1698 20 % ACCM, J183
1700 18% ACCM, J152
1748 10% ACCM, J201
1163/1749 11.5% B 170/386
1181/1767 11.1% B199/423
1200/1785 11.5% B352/736
1201/1786 11.0% B352/736
1220/1805 11.5% B 197/802
1239/1823 13.0% B308/548
(ACCM. Archives of the Ch

for these French sources.)

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348 MURAT CIZAKCA
In one of the French document

the two "deputes" Conston and Re
fers substantially from that of Eu
capital at 12% to 13% interest w
"our" nation with at least a 20% in
hibitions. This approximate rate
at which the cash waqfs provided
represent a mark up charged by th
the sarraf. That the sarrafs, indeed
been proven also by an original
Moreover, the trustees themselve
the profit of the trustee/sarraf w
the trustee/sarraf would borrow c
by himself and loan it at a high
naturally closely resembles the e
banking.
Finally, by the middle of the eighteenth century the difference between
the economic rate charged by the cash waqfs and the market interest rate
prevailing in Istanbul had substantially narrowed. Assuming that the
demand for capital remained constant, this narrowing might possibly be
explained by an increasing availability of capital which, in turn, might have
been caused by more aggressive entry of the trustees into the capital market
during these years, a phenomenon demonstrated by Tables 4 and 6 above.
Turning our attention to administrative reasons for the decline of the cash
waqfs, we must note a major development that affected the entire waqf
system, not only cash endowments but also real estate waqfs. This was the
centralization drive initiated by Abdiilhamid I and continued rigorously by
the following sultans, particularly Mahmud II.
The centralization drive was prompted by the ever increasing financial
needs of the state and the fact that by the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury large parts of landed property in the Ottoman Empire was controlled
by the waqf system. Thus, the state was deprived of an enormous revenue
potential. Moreover, this provocative situation had a shaky legal justifica-
tion. After all, a major part of this real estate was arazz-z emirtye-z mevkufe,
i.e., land that essentially belonged to the state but was made waqf and then
eventually claimed by private persons through the zcareteyn system explained
above. As the rakabe, ownership, remained with the state, the sultan could
justifiably claim that these endowments were evkaf-t gayrt sahiha, canonically
45) Cevdet Maliye, 2144.

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unsound; and as they were of quasi legal status and ultimately h

sionally, these waqfs could be revoked46). After the destruct
Janlssaries and the resultant unchallenged growth of M
absolutism, practically all the endowments of the empire were put
jurisdiction of the Evkaf-z Hiimayun Nezaretz, Minister of Endowm
waqf lands in this period yielded 44,000 kese revenue per ann
accrued to the treasury This amount was initially paid ou
endowments to meet their needs. During the government of
these payments were called zane, aid. This was followed by a sy
reduction until the zane constituted a mere one-fourth of the orig
of payments to the waqf system 47). Thus, in short, the state expro
revenues which belonged originally to the waqf system and sh
called the meager payments it made "aid"
Going back to the cash waqfs, we note that they too could n
Mahmud's iron grip. A directive promulgated on 19 Cema
1280/1863 made it clear that cash waqfs fell within the jurisdictio
Evkaf-z Hiimayun Nezaretz, Ministry of the Imperial Endownments
of the directive Instructs the trustees that the annual murabaha, r
endowed money not assigned for a specific social service mus
directly to the treasury and recorded in the registers rather than k
trustees48). This article is of interest not only because it indicates c
the cash endowments did not escape the centralization drive of Ma
but also because it confirms the arguments made above pertain
tendency of the trustees to exploit the resources of the cash waqf
own advantage. It is self evident that the trustees did not just
money in their possesion but lent it at a higher rate to the sarraf
public.
At the turn of the century the cash waqfs were put under the control of
a separate department, the Directorate of Endowed Money, Nukud-u
Mevkufe Miidiirlii-ii, which was to function as an agent of the Ministry A few
years later the bulk of endowed money controlled by the directorate was
used for purchasing shares of a newly founded bank, the Bank of Pious
Foundations, Evkaf Bankasi. Since the Ministry bought the majority of
shares, it in fact controlled the new bank. This control was assured by the
composition of the board of directors the majority of whom were appointed
46) Barnes, 1987, p. 86.

47) Mustafa Nun Pasa, 1992, p. 287
48) A. Seyhun, 1992.

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350 MURAT CIZAKCA
by the Ministry The lending re

vative and have been explained
7. Conclusion
By organizing as well as financing expenditures on education, health,

welfare and a host of other activities, cash endowments fulfilled services that
are today financed by the state or local authorities. Thus, they played a
vitally important role in the Ottoman social fabric and did so without any
cost to the state.
This article aimed at analyzing the way these endowments functioned an
contributed to the society over the long term. For this purpose, the Ca
Waqf Census Registers of the city of Bursa covering the period 1555-1823
were analyzed. Thus, although limited to one Ottoman city, a long ter
analysis coverming almost three hundred years has been attempted for th
first time.
Cash waqfs were subject to a number of controversies throughout the

history The first debate pertained to the long term survival of these institu
tions. This article partially resolved this debate in retrospect: the registers
revealed that about 20% of the Bursa cash endowments had survived for
more than a century The complete answer to the debate necessitates the
discovery of the survival percentage of the real estate endowments.
The next question addressed, concerned the reasons behind the relative
success of these "perpetual" endowments. It was hypothesized that capital
enhancement in the form of reinvesting the returns, receiving donations
from other endowments, or both, played a decisive role in the survival of
the endowments. This hypothesis was vindicated and the data revealed that
81% of the "perpetual" endowments had gone through a process of capital
enhancement.
Another debate surfaced recently among the economic historians a

modern Islamic jurists. While the former had argued that the return of
invested capital of a cash waqf was interest pure and simple, the la
rejected this view and argued that the return percentages stated in
documents pertained to ilzam-t rzbh, the requirement that a certain per
tage of the return earned was to be paid back to the endowment. This de
was resolved by an analysis of the murabaha/capital ratios of 1
endowments.
49) A. Seyhun, ibid.

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There is no doubt that cash waqfs injected substantial amounts of

into the economy of Bursa. In this context the concepts of capital r
tion and capital accumulation need to be addressed separately- c
were foremost institutions of capital redistribution. The capital ac
in one way or the other by their original founders were volu
distributed to a myriad of borrowers. Thus, redistribution turned
the primary function of this institution. It is possible that the cas
were tolerated notwithstanding the controversial nature of the ret
generated precisely because of this. It was originally thought possi
in this process they might have paved the way for a secondary
capital accumulation by favoring the entrepreneurs over the c
This view, however, was not supported by the available evidenc
overriding importance of redistribution was, once again, confir
The data, indeed, revealed that about nine percent of the inha
Bursa resorted to cash waqfs as a source of credit. While the b
credits went to small scale consumers, increasing amounts were
by the very trustees who were managing the endowments. Th
pooling was practiced only by the trustees and trusteeship had em
a distinct profession. The trustees borrowed capital from t
endowments and transferred these funds to the sarrafs of Istanbu
mark up. Consequently, two different rates of Interest prevai
Ottoman capital market: while the trustees of the cash endowment
credit with the relatively low rates to the sarraf, the latter transfe
to the merchants and tax-farmers with a substantial mark up.
possible that these two professions might have merged and trustee a
had eventually become the same person. These arguments also sugg
sarrafs may be considered as the original deposit bankers in the
economy.
By analyzing the expenditure patterns of the cash waqfs over th
term, it has been possible to observe the relative changes in social prio
For this purpose, the expenditure items of cash waqfs were categorized
several groups and the relative changes were observed between 158
1823 In this context the substantial reduction of spending observed in
education sector was particularly revealing
Finally, it was concluded that state policy, more than anything else,
responsible for the final destruction of the cash waqfs. The destru
started by Abdulhamid I, gained momentum under Mahmud II an
completed by the republic in the year 195450).
50) The demise of the cash waqfs under the republic can be summarized as foll
the Ottoman Empire was dying mn Istanbul, cash waqfs contributed substantially to the

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352 MURAT CIZAKCA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources:
Bursa, Ottoman Court Registers:

A 68/75 B 103/316-90b
A 136/163 B 227/455-1/lb
B 135/350 B 227/455-2/2b
B 169/385 A 23/25 -61b
B 170/386 A 21/27 -33a
B 199/423
B 253/736
B 197/802
B 308/548
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Cash Waqfs of Bursa, 1555-1823 Author(s) : Murat Çizakça Source: Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient, 1995, Vol. 38, No. 3, The Waqf (1995), Pp. 313-354 Published By: Brill

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Cash Waqfs of Bursa, 1555-1823 Author(s) : Murat Çizakça Source: Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient, 1995, Vol. 38, No. 3, The Waqf (1995), Pp. 313-354 Published By: Brill

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Cash Waqfs of Bursa, 1555-1823

Author(s): Murat Çizakça

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3632481

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By organizing as well as financing expenditures on education, health, welfare and a host

? E. J Brill, Leiden, 1995 JESHO 38,3

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In a society where health, educat

2. The Legal Background

A. Position of the Classical Jurists

The Ottomans, being devoted Hanefis, conducted their business and

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matively and ruled that the endowment of cash was absolutely pe

B Establishment of a Cash Waqf

A further debate in the establishment of Ottoman cash waqf

5) Barkan-Ayverdi, 1970, p. XXIII).

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demonstrate the process described

C. The Perpetuity Debate

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their followers lasted for more than a century and it remained i

3 Cash Waqfs zn Historzcal Reality

Since perpetuity is considered to be the conditto sine qua non of any w

7) Barkan-Ayverdi, 1970, passim and Mandaville, 1979, passim).

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may be misleading. These fluctuat

Cash Waqf Census Registers

Having selected our sam

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registered waqfs were perpetual"? But first, the term "perpetual" mu

8) Mandaville, 1979, p. 299

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be necessary to determine the su

When a major disaster struck waqf

The origin of this institution is subject to debate. Gerber has argued

9) Akarli, 1987, pp. 227-229

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12) Kreiser, 1986, p. 221.

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Although it is not possible within t

15) E. Akarli, 1987, 229; B. Yediyildiz,

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C. The Management of the Cash Waqfs

Having observed the "perpetuity percentage" of the cash w

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trusteeship of Esseyid Halil aga, the trus

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phenomenon of the transfer of funds between endowments. Wh

Having observed above that the original capital of the endowment co

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Capital Enhancement and Perpetuzty

H. Year Waqf's Name From other Reinvested

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H. Year Waqf's Name From other Reinvested

1239 V MESCID VE AVARIZ-I MAH. ATTAR HUSAM 0.00 0.00

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H. Year Waqf's Name From other Reinvested

1163 V MIHRAB VE AVARIZ MAH. FAZULLAH PASA 395.00 0.00

1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. GAZI HUDAVENDIGAR 0.00 0.00

1078 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HOCA YUNUS 300.00 0.00

1104 V AVARIZ-I MAH. HACI SUBHI 0.00 0.00

1104 V MESCID MAH. HOSKADEM MAKRAMAVI 0.00 0.00